Skin Deep Silence
by Meowzakers
Summary: After a horrible crime, Yui Hirasawa doesn't know who to be anymore when she's pushed into corner after corner. Warning! A little language!
1. Silence

_What the heck?_ Azusa Nakano thought to herself. She could never recall a time when the music room she adored so much was awkwardly quiet when all five Light Music Club members were present. Although, there _was_ that one time when the club decided to do a five-way staring contest. Which didn't last too long when the rest of the members instinctively stared at Mio with sparkling eyes. It ended with Mio freaking out and fleeing to her corner, remembering a story Ritsu had told her of the "Eight Eyes of Doom" that supposedly would drag you into the deepest pits of hell if you even gave one glance to each eye. Yui and Mugi even bothered to label her corner, "Sanctuary". Still, even if the club was playing a game Azusa wasn't informed of, the silence seemed ... different today.

Upon further inspection, she saw that nobody even touched the beautiful strawberry cakes Mugi had brought. From glancing at the elegant white teacups with the all-familiar yellow swirls, Azusa could guess that everybody but Yui and Ritsu had taken at least one sip of the now-cold tea.

_Wait … what? Yui-senpai and Ritsu-senpai didn't even …?_

The perplexed guitarist then took a glance at the usually energetic brunette upperclassmen. Ritsu had both elbows on the table, with her hands supporting her head. From the way the drummer's head was positioned, you would think she would be looking directly at Mio. Although the concerned golden eyes were looking directly at the regularly jolly lead guitarist.

At a glance, a true friend of Yui's could definitely see what was wrong with the picture. First of all, untouched cake was directly in front of her face. Enough said. The guitarist's arms were crossed on the table, supporting her head. Those once gleaming brown eyes were reduced to a dull, boring brown. Yui was staring at the table as if it was the last entity that would even lend an ear to her, even it was just imaginary.

The two long-haired beauties just occasionally looked at each other, as if searching for an answer to squish and destroy this unbelievable tension in the air. In spite of the long stares, all one could read from Mugi's eyes was: This reminds me of a suspense anime I watched last week.

Sweat-dropping, Azusa let her "Brain Train" load up and take off for a long journey. _Maybe something happened in their classroom? Seniors must have a huge amount of drama in their lives, right?_ _Maybe Yui-senpai got a boyfriend! Or, somebody teased her? Or ... Maybe ... ?  
_

Her Brain Train then hit an unexpected Armadillo that had taken a wrong turn from Texas, and flew off the railroad to plunge into a deep and endless ocean of yesterday's math homework when a _very_ desperate Mio finally spoke up.

"Hey, Ritsu?"

No response, not even a look of curiosity from Ritsu. Azusa started to annoyingly slurp her tea just so she knew she wasn't going deaf.

"Um … I've been thinking of seeing the Aorta Annihilator this weekend. Since I read some reviews that it was a really fun movie."

Azusa nearly choked from bull crap.

_The Aorta Annihilator! From all the reviews I read, it's the most terrifying horror movie of the century! … Eh?_

"Oh! I see now!" Azusa unintentionally blabbed out. Quickly covering her mouth after wards, she flushed red and awkwardly shifted her focus to watching Ton-chan chase a chunk of food all around the tank that kept escaping from her mouth.

"Good for you, Mio," Ritsu stated in a barely audible voice.

Mugi clasped her hands together and said in the most polite tone she could manage, "Yui-chan, Ricchan, would you like a new cup of tea?"

Ritsu sighed. "Mugi … we haven't even touched our tea, let alone our cake the entire time we've been here. What makes you suddenly conclude we want more stuff to just lay around to waste?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking." The lovable blonde replied in a hurt tone while she lightly bowed.

The Brain Train had lost eight cell passengers, but it recovered from it's plunge in the deep and started to trace the railroads once more. It even gained another cabin of cells.

_What's with Ritsu-senpai? I knew she never had any ounce of manners in her, but that's just uncivilized! What did Mugi-senpai ever do to you? Too many high-class cakes and cookies? The tea is of too great for your taste buds? The villas weren't good enough for that lazy log you call a body? This just pisses me off so much! _An unexpected lightning bolt crashed into Azusa's cranium. _Wait, did she say 'we?' Since when did Ritsu-senpai talk for Yui-senpai?_

Azusa's Brain Train had taken an unexpected right turn to the territories of Azusa's infamous and daring black cat's side. _If you're so mad about it, then tell her off! Who gives a crap if they're your senpais? They're acting more childish than you ever have been in my eyes!_

"You're right … " Azusa whispered to herself. The Brain Train has gained a new malevolent cat.

"RITSU-SENPAI!" The twin tailed guitarist boomed and rose from her chair as if she was a monk that had just reached spiritual enlightenment. She stared at whatever she could see from the drummer's face. Which as of now, was just her gleaming forehead.

"Why the hell are you two being so pissy today? You two barely practice with us, anyway. All you do is just chatter up, and you can't even do that right! Seriously, what are you going to do with yourselves?"

The forehead twitched. The brown potato called Yui clenched her fists together.

Unsatisfied, Azusa fearlessly choked up a few more words she would later regret.

"Hey, Mugi-senpai, Mio-senpai. Don't you think we should follow the examples the club leader gives us? I mean, we all want to become great musicians someday, don't we? Come on, Mio-senpai, let's act bitchy and moody too!"

The forehead wrinkled.

"Why don't you just shut the fuck up Azusa?" Ritsu lowered her hands, revealing her dead-serious face. The blistered hands then tightly wound up into two fists on the battered table.

Taken aback from the language, the black cat side of Azusa faded from her vocal chords. Leaving the little guitarist with an odd taste of remorse and sourness.

"Ah -" Azusa managed to utter out. The golden eyes burned into her doubting burgundy ones with killer intent.

_Hateful black cat, look what you've done! _Azusa screamed into her throbbing head as she trembled in fear.

"Scared, Azusa? Good. I hear cat's should fear dogs anyway." Ritsu said in a threatening tone. Mio planned to run screaming to her Sanctuary Corner, but her legs didn't move an inch when the moment really counted.

"I'm … going home now … bye," Yui spontaneously said with a loud and shaky tone with tears falling from her rosy cheeks.

"Yui-chan … " Mugi sorrowfully mumbled.

Ritsu deformed her fists back into her normal beaten hands. The forehead queen had a defeated and disgusted look on her face.

Yui gave a quick half-hearted wave before grabbing her bag and slung her beloved Gitah over her back.

"Ah, wait! Yui-senpai!" Was all the neko-wannabe could utter before Yui rushed out of the club room.

As if on cue, Ritsu followed suit and sprinted after Yui.

"Azusa, it's not your fault. It really isn't." The sable-haired bassist finally said after a very long four seconds, gently touching her massive hands with the troubled tiny ones.

"Of course it's my fault Mio-senpai! I don't even know why I said that!" Azusa then walked over to the nearest wall and begun to repeatedly smash her head into the cold, unforgiving structure.

Mio sighed. "Azusa, we have to tell you something."

The all-knowing blonde eyebrows tensed.

"You see ... "

* * *

"You … you're joking … right?"

* * *

A/N: My first fanfic. Spare me! Though criticism is widely accepted.


	2. Discovery

_**CHAPTER TWO: DISCOVERY**_

"Why would he of all people do that?" Azusa asked the widely known question that never had an answer. The junior member was sitting in her usual chair, her clenched fists were resting on her lap.

"I'm not sure … maybe he's stressed?" Suggested Mio, still trying to loosen up the tension that floated throughout the club room.

"I hear some teenagers do drastic things so they could get attention from their family or the people close to them." Mugi bluntly said. With one of her hands on her chin, seriously imitating a detective. "But these days, It's probably peer pressure, perhaps?"

"Still, why Yui-senpai?" Azusa sobbed.

"What about Yui?" Mio wondered.

"Well, you know how she is …" The young guitarist started to awkwardly fiddle with her calloused fingers. "She's … pure? I guess?"

"The innocent ones are always the easiest to target." Mugi replied in a monotone pitch.

Shocked by Mugi's sudden change of character"Still! That's just horrible! People like him should just … not exist." The petite girl tried to say it in the nicest way possible.

"Be that as it may … he's still Ritsu's …" Mio bit her tongue once she saw the sky start to turn into a mix of orange and purple.

"Ah! It's this late already!" Mio grabbed her bag and left Elizabeth near the mini-library of nothing but manga. "I forgot to make dinner! Sorry! I'll see you tomorrow, Mugi, Azusa!" With that, the bass player dashed out of the room, no bass in hand.

"Mio-senpai cooks ..?" Whispered Azusa.

"I guess we better call it a day too, Azusa-chan."

Mugi gave a large, warm smile, accompanied by an out-of-place blush.

"Ah - I'm going to stay here a bit longer, Mugi-senpai. I think I'll just have a slice of cake." The poor musician was lacking energy from skipping lunch and the heated club activities that took place today.

_Was she trying to imitate __that__ smile? Silly senpai, you know only one person can pull it off perfectly and effortlessly. _

"I understand," The blonde ojou walked to the desk where Ton-chan's aquarium was, and took what it looked like to be a recording camera. "I don't think I'll be needing this today …" Was all the eyebrow goddess said before power-walking out of the clubroom.

_Just now …_ _was that a recording camera disguised as a pink box? There's no way that Mugi-senpai is … _Instantly, Azusa quickly scanned the room from her seat. She examined every nook and cranny, and _especially_ under the tables and seats.

Azusa sighed. "Safe. Eh?" When she was inspecting the chairs, she noticed that Ritsu had dropped her cell phone onto her un-tucked chair. Azusa's curiosity battled with her responsible conscious.

"Well … how else could I become closer to Ritsu-senpai?" Azusa then proceeded to go over dozens of scenarios where the two band mates could bond together, only to figure out that every scenario ended with Azusa feeling more distant than ever to the eccentric drummer, or having several bruises by the end of the day.

"Hum, clearly, this would be the best way to get to know Ritsu-senpai" Azusa convinced herself. Her sensible conscious' fate was sealed. "This is my oblique bonding with Ritsu-senpai! Yeah, that'll work!" She raised her fist in the air, feeling superior. Azusa then proceeded to scratch the back of her head in total embarrassment.

"I have to stop talking to myself …"

*_click!*_

Not caring about the kind of pictures or music the drummer had on her phone, Azusa went directly for the text messages. Only to find that there were only seven undeleted text messages in her inbox. All have been read, so Azusa could safely invade, err, learn more about Ritsu's more personal life.

After glancing at the inbox, Azusa deduced that five were from Mio, and by the subject title, they were all about how Ritsu wasn't replying to her messages. The other two, were from the one and only Yui Hirasawa. Just to make Azusa's life even more convenient, both mails were sent yesterday after school hours.

Azusa gulped and gripped the phone tightly. _I have to confirm Mugi-senpai's and Mio-senpai's story!_

"Sorry for the intrusion …" Azusa bowed to the all-knowing cell phone, only to smack herself in the face with the back of a chair.

"Blimey! Dang chair!" Not bothering to ask herself why she suddenly became British, she rubbed her red forehead and clicked the button that would open the sixth text message of the drummer's phone.

_MESSAGE SIX:_

_From:__ Yui Hirasawa ; __Subject:__ Here's Yui! ^.^; ; __Time:__ Yesterday, 5:04._

_Yo! Ricchan! Ui accidentally made curry for four because I tried to confuse her in what the purpose of ants really is. Hehe~ Ui makes the best curry in the entire Baby Ruth galaxy! Or was it Three Musketeers? Ehehe~ So, I'm coming over to deliver the goods! Prepare for the battle of your life! If I don't come … avenge my death! Mmm … Commander Yui, out!_

Azusa sweat dropped. "Yui-senpai is really … cheesy." The guitar performer coughed after realizing the text must have been sent _before_ the incident.

_MESSAGE SEVEN:_

_From:__ Yui Hirasawa ; __Subject:__ Ui! ; __Time:__ Today, 1:11_

_Hello, Ui Hirasawa here. I'm operating Onee-chan's phone at the minute. Ritsu-chan, would you be able to do me a gigantic favor please? I want you to accompany Onee-chan on the way to school in the morning, please! Personally, I think it would be best if you were the one to walk her. _

_Since, a few hours ago, Onee-chan tried to go to sleep. But because of … that … she woke up twice from nightmares! The first time, she awoke lightly screaming for help. The second time, she awoke with tears tumbling down her face. She's sleeping now, I held onto her until she fell asleep. I beg you … maybe she'll feel better with you._

"…" It took all of the little musician's willpower to not collapse to the floor and cry her eyes out. Nevertheless, once Azusa fully understood that the story wasn't a lie, and that her senpai was in pain, three rebellious tear droplets found the exit from her eyes and fell onto the cell phone screen.

_You won't change, right, Yui-senpai? You'll always be the loving, fluffy airhead I know, right? "You're a strong and determined person … this won't break you …" Is what I want to think …_ Azusa's thoughts were pushed on the side when she heard a very familiar ring tone of _Dolls_, Rin Kagamine's version. Followed by the phone vibrating.

_***VRRRR!* *VRRRR!***_

Azusa's breath became ice-cold.

The hand that always held down every single guitar chord she has ever played now was gripping Ritsu's cell phone with intense feelings; unknown strength. Anybody could have sworn that if Azusa gripped it any tighter the phone would surely break. Azusa rallied up every ounce of courage she had left in her after the exhausting day, and looked at the phone still stained with Azusa's tears.

_Y U HAVE ONE UNRE SSAGE!_

_Fr m:__ Yui Hirasawa_

"Why now …" Azusa cursed the gods that just conveniently set this all up for her. _Of course, Yui's name magically wasn't one of the spots my tears landed on_.

_MESSSAGE EIGHT:_

_From:__ Yui Hirasawa ; __Subject:__ Azu-nyan? ; __Time: __Moments ago_

_Ricchan, have you seen Azu-nyan anywhere? Her cell phone is off, and her parents aren't even home. I reallyyyy wanted to tell her something super-duper important … AH! I FORGOT! Ricchan I'm going back to school! I forgot to feed Ton-chan! I just hope she isn't swimming in turtle heaven, I sure would die too if I hadn't eaten in five hours!_

_P.S - Things were pretty intense in the club room, wasn't it? Sorry - I wasn't trying to stir anything up!_

A very late thought decided to finally stumble into Azusa's mind. _Wait, why does Yui-senpai act and talk normally to Ritsu-senpai? Shouldn't Ritsu-senpai be the one trying to cheer up Yui-senpai?_

Azusa's back snapped. Not too long from now, a certain bubbly guitar prodigy would come barging through the door wooden doors that led in and out of the club room. Azusa wanted to run, but she had to talk to Yui, one way or another.

"Am I a bad person?" Azusa questioned herself as she started typing a reply to Yui's message meant for Ritsu.

Sent.

_To:__ Yui Hirasawa ; __Subject:__ RE: Azu-nyan? __Sent:__ Moments ago_

_Whatcha mean, Yui? It wasn't Azusa that made you run out? She did kind of go overboard, dontcha think? I mean, she sure made me mad._

Azusa had tried her very best to make it sound like Ritsu had typed the message. Though, the twin-tailed girl had to erase the word "Senpai" from her message twice.

Waiting for the response, Azusa sneaked a few cookies into her lunch box and managed to finish a slice of cake before Yui replied.

_MESSAGE NINE:_

_From__: Yui Hirasawa ; __Subject:__ RE:RE: Azu-nyan? ; __TIME:__ Moments ago_

_I don't blame Azu-nyan! I don't think we even told Azu-nyan the reason for our funky behavior. What kind of ruthless monster do you think I am? p(-.-)p, Emoticon is disappoint! Anyways, Its just when you told Azu-nyan to shut up, you said it exactly the same away he did … that's all._

Azusa nearly jumped ten feet in the air when she heard somebody running up a fleet of stairs, closer and closer. Trembling, Azusa stared out the window and pleaded to the skies.

"Azusa phone home now! ?" A tiny index finger was pointed to the now setting sky.

"Knew it, dang Hollywood …" She sighed as she slung Muttan over her back and grabbed her school bag. By the sound of the footsteps, the figure was finally on the floor of the clubroom.

_There's no time! Maybe I can jump out the window!_ Azusa was frantically running in circles. The two large, brown doors slowly swung open, revealing the brown and fluffy head with the trademark yellow hair clips.

"… Azu-nyan?" said the unusually fast-learner as she watched the red-faced rhythm guitarist run her last tiny circle.

* * *

"What! Where's my phone? Who took it? Why would they take such a crummy phone? When could somebody steal it in the first place …! How -" Ritsu paused mid-sentence when she realized how large the opening to her uniform pocket was. Second, she asked the five W's, and didn't feel like throwing in the H question. Third, she had an idea of who could have taken it.

The drummer marched to the end of the hall and barged into her younger brother's room.

"Satoshi! Did you take my phone?" Ritsu tested.

"Eh? Why would I even want your crummy phone?" Satoshi then pointed to his own phone, which was the same exact model as the hair band-less drummer.

_Yep, we're siblings alright. _"I think I got a pretty good idea of why you would need it," said Ritsu with a noticeable frown.

The frustrated Tainaka put down his doodling pencil. "Sis! Can't you just shut up about that already? I mean, Shi-" Ritsu closed off her ears just in time.

_God, this boy curses more than me!_ Regretting she taught Satoshi all the curse words she knew for his tenth birthday present, Ritsu opened up her ears to let them listen to whatever in the world they felt like listening to.

"Sorry, sorry. Hey, can you tell Dad I'm going over to Mio's house for a little?"

"Mio's? Oh, he won't care. It's Mio after all." He replied, beginning to doodle.

The elder Tainaka gradually started to close the door. "You know, I wish it was something I could just shut up about too." Was the last thing she said before shutting the door and jogging over to Mio's house.

* * *

The older club member walked a few steps closer to Azusa.

"Senpai! Um, I was just getting ready to practice my guitar solos!" Azusa quickly slapped herself a thousand times in her mind once she remembered she didn't have many guitar solos.

Yui slowly walked up to the nervous junior and gave her one of her trademark Super Duper Azu-nyan Hugs.

"Azu-nyan, are you trying to seduce me?" Yui wondered. She just wanted to use the word "seduce" because she heard it on television two days ago.

"Wha-! ?" Was all the kouhai could yelp before she released herself from her senpai's grasps.

"By the way Azu-nyan, what does seduce mean?"

Azusa sweat dropped. "Well …"

"Ah! Ton-chan! You're still alive!" Yui inelegantly walked over to the tank and pressed her face against it. Eagerly watching the soft-shelled turtle continue to chase that rebellious food that refused to enter her mouth.

"Yep, I fed Ton-chan a few minutes ago. Since a certain someone didn't come over!" The rhythm guitarist placed her hands on her hips, not even realizing she was lying. _I forgot how selectively short Yui-senpai's attention span is ..._

"Ehehe~ sorry, Azu-nyan. I was helping Ui with cooking." The brunette then stuck out her hand to expose her right hand. There were five bandages with appropriate kitten graphics on them.

Not realizing she was about to destroy the only normal atmosphere the club room had all day, Azusa asked, "Yui-senpai … why are you all jolly again?"

"I'm always jolly,"

"You weren't at club activities … but I don't blame you,"

"I didn't rob a bank!"

"Not that! Wait, what?"

"Never mind," Yui looked nervous.

"I mean that … incident."

"Mugi-chan and Mio-chan told you?"

"Hai,"

"I gotta thank them later..."

Azusa looked did not look pleased.

"Did Ui cheer you up?"

"Hehe, a little. She made me my favorite dessert for pre-dinner! But when I remembered what Sawa-chan told us, I got all better!" Yui pointed to her band-aids.

_Was that supposed to be an analogy?_

After a seemingly endless five seconds, Yui started to walk out of the bipolar clubroom.

"See you tomorrow, Azu-nyan!" Yui did one of her classic smiles.

_That's the smile …_ Azusa's stress felt like it's been thrown a party by the President of the United States just for remembering to recycle.

"Have I been forgiven, Yui-senpai? For that outburst …" She called out to her senpai that was already on the other side of the unclosed door.

Yui turned around to her cuddly friend. "Of course! But you know, Azu-nyan is so hard to understand sometimes. But, that's why you're so cute! That's why you're Azu-nyan …" She turned her back to Azusa before continuing.

"That's why … I love you!" The potential airhead mastermind exclaimed with an unseen smile on her face.

Azusa smiled.

Then, her brain finally registered what in the world just happened.

"Wait … what!" But before she could get a response from her favorite senpai, she was already running down the hall.

_Eh …! Just now …_

A dumbfounded girl's mind blew up into flames.

* * *

It was a good thing the drummer and bassist's houses were so close together, Ritsu jogged over there without losing even an ounce of energy. Noticing the door was unlocked, Ritsu let herself inside. She saw Mio putting down little bowls of soy sauce next to three delicious looking dinners.

"Wow, smells good!" Ritsu said right behind the bassist.

"Kyaaa!" Screamed the bassist before she collapsed to the floor. Realizing it was just her good, old, childhood friend, she got up and smacked her on the head.

"Eh, what? I was just complimenting your cooking skills! I'm impressed"

"Oh, these? I just bought them from that diner down the street."

"I take back what I said!" Ritsu nearly fell over from disappointment.

"Well sorry for not pleasing you!" Mio sighed before adding finishing touches to the not home-made dinner. _Though I'm glad you came …_ she thought.

"What did I come here for again?" Ritsu rubbed the bump on her head.

"To copy homework?"

"Eh, no …"

"To 'borrow' manga?" Mio made air quotes.

"No!"

"Then, to steal my fo-"

"Gosh! Just who do you think I am!" The brunette raised her arms up in shock.

"My best friend." Mio calmly stated.

"Heh, is there any other?" Ritsu confidently asked. Causing Mio to smile and giggle.

"Oh, yeah! Seen my phone anywhere?"

"No … I think it's too late to go back to school, too …" Mio grimly said as she looked at the dark sky.

"Fiddlesticks!" Ritsu bellowed in an unrecognizable accent.

* * *

A/N: Kinda cheesy, I know ... I tried to keep everybody in character, minus Satoshi (Dang supporting characters). I wish I made Ui's text message better though.

Next chapter!: Face Goes Boom!


	3. Face Goes Boom!

_**CHAPTER THREE: Face Goes Boom!**_

"Ritsu! Would you stop running ahead of me all the time! ?" Mio managed to say, gasping for breaths.

"A girl can't leave her phone all alone, can she?" Ritsu said in a cute tone with sparkling, golden eyes.

"Yeesh … Come on, homeroom is about to start, let's go already." The blue-eyed senior exhaustively replied. But not before giving a karate chop to the other senior's head, of course.

* * *

Mugi looked at the attentive guitarist as she stared back. Eventually, the guitarist broke the silence by grabbing a lock of hair from both shoulders of the loving ojou.

"Hmm," Grunted Yui.

"I'm pretty sure I'm blonde, Yui-chan." Said Mugi with that eternal smile secured onto her lavished face.

"No …" The brunette then rose the two locks up to Mugi's upper lip.

"Mustache!" Exclaimed Yui with a smile.

An "Are you serious?" aura emitted from the tea master. Which quickly dissipated when Mugi finally comprehended the meaning of the events.

"I wish I could grow out a beard, though …" Said the blonde in a slightly deep tone, rubbing her bare chin.

"Make it pointy," Yui said in the same tone.

"Only then, could I become the best lion tamer the world has ever seen."

"Ooh! Amazing!" Shouted Yui, causing classmates to gawk at the two musicians as they watched the shorter one flail her arms around, and the taller one was imitating what it seemed to be a lion roaring.

* * *

"I'm telling you! I read somewhere that if you actually pour salt on a snail, it really _does_ melt!"

"…" The bassist said nothing but had an extremely evident look of fear on her face. She stopped walking, but started power-walking down the chatter-filled hallway.

Noticing it would take another ten minutes for the homeroom bell to ring, Ritsu took the chance and cleared her throat. Time to have some fun, she surely hadn't done this in a while.

"Wait up, Mio!" The hairbandee gracefully caught up to the scaredy-cat with a smirk on her face. "Mio, watch me say big words."

"Eh … Eh?" Said a bewildered bassist. She had slowed her pace back to a casual walking, for she had mentally concluded that the horror session was over for now.

"Ahem!" Ritsu cleared her throat, and took the chance to stand in the way of Mio. Her confidence was blinding.

"First of all … did you know …

That salt makes a snail's body slowly disintegrate?"

"Eeee!" screeched Mio, gripping her bag like it was her last life line.

_All right, good start._ The robust performer thought. She leaned in closer to Mio's face for the finishing blow.

Ritsu wiggled her fingers around.

"The body fizzes and boils like: PSSSSSH! Then all that's left is a nauseating, unsightly yellow liquid!"

"Nooo!" Mio cried and impulsively slapped Ritsu.

_This scene feels familiar …_ Thought Ritsu as she started to feel her cheek burn.

"Heh, sorry `bout that Mi -" Ritsu groaned once she realized the bassist was no longer in front of her.

_Damn, she's freaking fast!_

The very thought was confirmed when she heard a very well-known girl screaming at the end of the long hallway. In another 2.4 seconds the possible Olympian was already running through the hallway a floor above the dumbstruck drummer.

"Mio …" Ritsu sweat dropped. Recovering quickly, Ritsu checked the time.

"… My word! I haven't even checked if I got any new messages yet!"

* * *

"I mean, I didn't think I ruined it _that_ much …" Sighed Jun. Her exasperated remark made Azusa burst into muffled fits of laughter. Of course, Jun gave in and laughed at her own dignity's demise.

Unfortunately for Ui, who had _just_ tuned into the real world, did not get to laugh at something she never heard. The mature junior just tuned back out and kept thinking about what she should cook for dinner. Though, today was definitely not her day, as her thoughts were intercepted once again by a completely calm Jun nudging her on the shoulder.

"Eh? Did I miss something?" said a bamboozled little sister.

"Nah, sorry if I interrupted your deep thinking about ending world hunger." Jun seriously apologized.

Ui tensed.

_I should probably stop that ruse someday …_ Ui just couldn't fess up that her "deep" thoughts just revolved around ending the grumbling of her beloved sister's immense black hole, A.K.A. , stomach.

"But I can't help but wonder … what does Tainaka-san want with Azusa?" Jun pointed near the entrance of the classroom, where a serious upperclassman seemed to be pressuring an underclassman. The high-ranker seemed to be pestering about something with her phone, which was shoved in the lower-ranker's face.

"Maybe she wanted to show her a picture? Maybe …" Said Jun, pushing her mind into overload.

"But they both seem really bothered about something," Ui wondered how the two polar opposites argued with everybody gawking at them. It amazed her how nobody was able to connect let alone understand a single sentence.

"… and that's the truth," Was the only thing every soul in the room heard as Azusa started to walk back towards Jun's desk, where her food and friends awaited.

"Nakano, you should learn how to bluff." The copper-eyed girl irately said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"If you won't fess up, I'll just ask Mugi for the hidden microphone recordings disguised as gum under the table." She bluffed, wanting to restore the atmosphere she selfishly demolished. It was then she finally realized that the entire classroom of juniors have been ogling at their conversation.

The feasible masochist stopped dead in her tracks.

"She has microphones too! ?" Azusa's wine-like eyes shot open, like a high-class mouse trap.

"Azusa …? I was kidding …"

"Wait ..."

* * *

A timid Mio stood in front of her two friends with a gaping jaw.

"Tell me … what are you guys doing again?" She poked herself hard in the forehead, thinking it would put her migraine on hold just for a few more minutes.

"I'm a super hero!" Yui squawked. Why the girl was making motions as if she was drowning, nobody really knew.

"And I am her secretary. Whoosh!" Mugi shined. Why the gal was making whipping noises and motions with a glowing face, some knew.

"Lesser Flamingo! Your arch-rival is waiting for you on the rooftop!" Mugi then started to move as if she was beating an insane man with a hatchet.

"Mio! No … Camp Robber! Deploy the life savers!" Yui proceeded to fling Camp Robber to the ground.

"Banzai!" Lesser Flamingo shouted as she belly flopped onto her underling.

"Ow! What do you think you're doing, Yui! ?" Gasped the aggravated bassist as she flailed her limbs about, hoping to magically lift the determined guitarist off of her.

"That's Lesser Flamingo to you, Camp Robber! Now sail! To the golden land, Zipangu …" Yui said with a dream-like gaze. A trickle of drool started to escape from the corner of her mouth.

_What a selfish superhero …_ Thought Mio.

"I'll call up the Coast Guard, right away." Said the fair-haired secretary. Who was now spinning like a ballerina on _5 Hour Energy_.

"Thanks, Seductive Dingo!" Thanked Yui, still not fully understanding what "Seduce" means.

Two students with red uniform ties frantically ran into class 3-2's doors.

"Mio-sama!" Was the only thing the two said in unison, the rest was a harmonic mess, but here you go.

"There's a - - Trouble! ..ght! Azu - - Betwee - …club …chan! Members!"

"EHH! ?" Screamed the amazing yet restrictedly sharp superhero squad.

* * *

A seemingly weightless dusk-haired girl was flung into the tiny, unorganized class library. Which unleashed a fairly large cloud of dust.

"That's hilarious, Azusa. Falling in love with an adorable plaything, good one." Ritsu sneered as she walked towards the shaken girl.

"Ritsu-senpai …" Was all Azusa could mutter as she got back to her feet, and saw the percussionist only about four feet from her, breathing oddly.

"Wanna feel my heart, Azusa?" Ritsu took another step and shot her fist back, ready for the strike.

A miss.

The enraged fist collided with one of the wooden shelves of the library, where the guitarist's head once was. As the buttery eyed girl hissed in pain, her cheek felt the wrath of a certain forty-six kilogram musician.

The drummer stumbled backwards until she bumped into a now evacuated desk.

"You son of a -"

She was silenced once again when Azusa kneed her in the chest. With all the wind knocked out of her, the club leader was wide open for another attack. The frizzy-haired guitarist slapped Ritsu hard with the back of her hand. Wasting no time, she then commenced to rip the signature yellow hair band off the wrinkled forehead. Finishing her rookie barrage, Azusa rammed Ritsu into a sea of desks and chairs with her trusty shoulder.

"C-call a teacher! Hurry!" Ui nudged Jun towards the exit. Jun hesitated, but hurried out the exit, making sure neither of the two brawlers made eye contact with her.

Refusing to repeat her senpai's mistake, Azusa rushed to the drummer sprawled over a desk.

"Nakano!" Ritsu spat as she quickly grabbed onto a chair barely in her grasp, and flung it in her opponent's direction.

Hit!

Azusa wobbled on her feet, she felt blood starting to make its way out of her bruised nose. Finally with a chance to strike, a _very_ tough head bombarded Azusa's chin with amazing force.

_How could that many brain cells hit so hard! ?_ Azusa marveled as her whole body nearly toppled over.

"Bitch …"

"Not yet …" Ritsu finished off by grabbing one of her quality ponytails. Ritsu unleashed every ounce of her rage into one roundhouse kick to the junior's skull. Well, that's how it was supposed to go. Instead, her negatively charged kick shifted to Azusa's shoulder. An abrupt cracking sound echoed throughout the nearly silent teaching space. Followed by a loud cry of complete and utter pain.

"Stop it!" Yelled Ui as she latched onto the back of Ritsu and did not plan to let go anytime soon.

"Get the hell off of me!" Ritsu jerked around and shoved Ui off, lightly bumping into a window.

Seeing that Plan A had failed, Ui immediately rushed over to her classmate after she was completely balanced once more. Unfortunately, Ritsu also made way to the barely conscious girl.

"This isn't your fight, Ui!" Azusa cried out to no avail. The younger Hirasawa was already in front of her, arms straight out. Her stance was so perfect that it looked unbreakable, though the lively drummer was never known to give up without a fight.

"For fuck's sake …" Ritsu attempted to brush Ui off the same way as before, but she was like a brick wall. Fuming, the drummer's common sense refused to work with her.

Eventually, Azusa managed to get back on her feet as well. The weakened girl reached out for what she thought was Ui's shoulder. In reality, it was a nice chunk of air.

"Ui, that's enough. You'll get hurt." She stammered blindly.

"Hah!" Ritsu called as her foot propelled forward, hitting a junior in the stomach.

In a flash, Ui was pushed aside. "Azusa-chan!" She cried.

The cat-girl coughed up a single blood drop onto the drummer's still leg.

"Check ... ma ..." Two petite hands wrapped around an object.

The weary leg was then twisted to whatever angle the guitarist wished. She twisted and twisted, until the drummer was on the ground, hissing in pain. After a quick jab and a tackle, Ritsu was pinned down. Her only view was a horrifying one. With both arms raised, Azusa glared at Ritsu with blood lusting eyes. Whatever she was gripping was unknown to Ritsu, her bangs obstructed her view.

The superhero trio answered the call. Analyzing the power levels of the two girls in a flash, Camp Robber went for the girl with the safety scissors. While Seductive Dingo went for the girl on the ground.

"Let go!" Ritsu demanded. Both superheroes restrained the two scrappers and dragged them away from each other.

"Mio-senpai! Please! We're not done yet!" Azusa begged.

_Is that safety scissors?_ Ritsu stared in disbelief as she was forced on her feet.

"You both have blood on you, this should have ended a long time ago," Mugi calmly said, looking at Mio with concerned eyes.

"I'm fine, Mugi," Mio silently mouthed.

Ritsu continued to attempt to break free from the Dingo's grasps. That is, until Ritsu remembered how mind-blowingly strong the lass is. Even so, the battered Tainaka wanted answers from the blood-splattered girl across from her.

"Nakano! I've known her even before the club even existed! How could I possibly lose?" Said the jealous senior.

"What does that have to do with anything! ? Then you and Mio-senpai would be in love!"

The restrainer of the jazz child loosened her grip.

"H-huh! ? That wasn't even the fucking point! I know her better! Every house visit … every training camp …" Ritsu lowered her head, her long bangs blocked every inch of her face.

There was an uncomfortably long, awkward silence. The students in the classroom and the other club members had their mind in knots, not even knowing why the two were fighting in the first place. Still, one scenario entered everybody's mind at one point: _A boy?_

"That's … club activities with friends. Yui-senpai … I _always_ have one-on-one time with her!" The wildfire in Azusa's core spread rapidly throughout her body.

"If you're so damn confident about it, why do you call her 'senpai'? What could a senpai and kouhai have together?" Ritsu impulsively replied.

"Everything!"

"You're just admiring her …" She scoffed.

"... Then why am I defending her until I'm reduced to this …? Ritsu-senpai …" Mio released Azusa's sore arms. The lost girl sunk onto the wooden floors, rubbing her eyes with the one shoulder that was in perfect condition.

The hostile aura from both girls faded.

"Naka - Azusa. _Prove it._" The grip on Ritsu was released as well. The tomboy stood in front of Azusa, eagerly yet patiently waiting for an answer.

"Yui-senpai … I - I LOVE YUI HIRASAWA!"

… Processing.

"_EHHH! ? ! ?_" Was the noise that resonated through ninety percent of the student's minds. Another thought was: _Beautiful …_

The club president sighed. She was praying and wishing for a different answer to come out of the rhythm guitarist's lips.

"That won't do, watch and learn, kouhai." She smirked, regaining her composure.

"Ahem … I, RITSU TAINAKA AM IN LOVE WITH YUI HIRASAWA!" Anybody could bet that Ritsu's announcement could have been heard throughout the entire school building. On the ear crippling meter, Azusa ranked an 8.2 while Ritsu dominated with a 9.0.

"Violence is not the answer!" Sawako preached as she barged into the classroom. After receiving thirty five confused glares, Sawako turned back to her information advisors.

The metal head fumbled with her glasses.

"Are you sure this is the right classroom, Suzuki-san, Yui-chan?"

"… It's over?" Yui charged into the classroom.

"Ah! Ricchan! Azu-nyan! You guys look …" The somewhat overachiever halted when she couldn't think of a nice thing to say.

Silence.

"Is she deaf …?" Mumbled a background classmate character with no real significance.

* * *

A/N: Well, this chapter took forever ... Though, three questions kept haunting me as I wrote this.

1. Do they make high-class mouse traps?

2. Can I have Mugi still alive and well after two confessions like that?

3. Did anybody get the Zipangu joke?x_x

Anyways, going back to school in about a week. Imma try to not be lazy when it comes around (fat chance). Though, I hope all you students somehow enjoy an all new school year!


	4. Invitation

Boo. Scared? Didn't think so.

Onto the story!

_**CHAPTER FOUR: Invitation  
**_

_What's wrong? You're amazing! I'll train you well. How does RitsuMio sound? …_

"RitsuMio …" The raven-haired girl whispered under her breath.

"Hmm? Say something, Mio?" Questioned her companion, with her arms behind her neck as always.

_Might as well be together._

"Nah, was just thinking out loud." She chuckled, tweaking her senses back to the world around her. As usual, Mio and Ritsu were walking to school just like every other morning. Their carefree walk resumed for another two minutes or so until they had to stop to wait for the crossing signal. You know, laws and such.

"You're quite the quiet one today." Ritsu pointed out.

"How'd you notice?" The bassist joked. It was hard to stay bothered when she was with the girl that has always been by her side.

"I think I know why!" Ritsu teased. "It's Friday today, am I right?"

"Last time I checked, almost time for the weekends." Mio responded while holding her locks from going crazy by the incoming morning breeze.

"Exactly! Don't think I wasn't listening when a particular girl announced she was going to see the most bloodcurdling movie of the year!" The crossing signal lit up, and the peppy girl walked on while the lifeless girl was bound to the sidewalk.

" … Aorta … Annihilator …" Muttered the striking rock.

"Eh! What are you doing, Mio! ? Come on!" Ritsu called, lugging the boulder to the other side of the road. Luckily, the car that drove by at a face-crushing ninety miles per hour just missed the two high schoolers.

Following a good two minutes of frantic hands-waving-in-front-of-face movements, Mio finally came back to her senses, somewhat.

*"Being time I wasn't serious that! That I why would watch! ?" Mio shrilled.

*"Whoa, whoa. Easyway onway ethay ammargray utcheringbay." Ritsu replied.

"S-say what?" Her pale face faded as color started flooding back.

_*DING! DONG!*_

"Crap!" Yelled both girls as they began to sprint in the direction of Sakuragaoka.

* * *

"Mugi-chan, these cakes are tasty." Yui complimented, still having an entire half of a cake in her mouth.

"Senpai, you got your energy now. Let's practice …?" Said the shortest club member, who already had her guitar set as she stood near Yui.

"No practice! Let's continue with the eating and happy conversing." Mugi shot up from her chair with a single arm raised high. Her eyes were gleaming with determination.

"W-why are you like this so suddenly, Mugi?" Mio asked, with a slight hint of terror in her voice.

Pause.

"Well, the amps mess up the frequencies … "

"W- what?"

"Ah - I mean … this is the last year we'll be the Light Music Club of Sakuragaoka, right? We should happily waste it with the ones we _love_."

_Emphasis. _Thought every other member in the room. The cunning blond was up to something, they could just smell it.

"… By the way, Mugi? I don't recall uh, shoulder armor as a part of the dress code." Ritsu pointed at the unbelievably noticeable gear.

"This? Oh, you can never be too careful." The keyboardist awkwardly replied. Only to realize a certain guitar spud had been deeply gazing at her.

"Mugi-chan? That bow in your hair is really cute~ Can I try it on?" Yui fawned as she wiggled her seemingly boneless arms in the pianist's direction.

"Looks expensive," Azusa was greatly impressed once again by the girl's endless wealth as she gazed at the black bow. "Especially that shiny centerpiece …"

"Now that you mention it … the shoulder thingies got two of those on them too." Yui cocked her head.

"Ehehe …" The poor piano prodigy stumbled for the finishing blow.

"They kinda look like cameras - -" Their club president paused. It would take another 0.3 seconds until everybody could fully break down Ritsu's revelation.

"EHH! ? !" The quartet screamed in unity. Leaving Mugi speechless. Her expression reminded Ritsu of when she was two mines away from finally clearing Expert Mode in Minesweeper. That is, until logic left the poor drummer to close her eyes and guess.

"M-Mugi … Don't tell me you're …" Mio was already out of her chair, slowly inching her trembling legs to her Sanctuary.

"Um … high school is only so short … you know?" Azusa watched as Ton-chan suddenly started to blow at least twelve bubbles per second. _Is she laughing at us?_

The frequently noisy club member (No, the other one) slammed her fist into her palm. "I got an idea, let's practice!"

"Uh, Good idea!" Ritsu completely agreed. The look-alikes just nodded in silence, while that rowdy girl with the eyebrows just pouted.

Most of the club members shuffled on over to their practice area and set up their instruments. By the time every string was tuned, every stick and pick tightly gripped, She-Hercules finally decided to get up. Nobody complained at her sluggish legs as Mugi set up fairly quickly, by pressing the big plastic button once. Magic? Maybe.

Ritsu coughed once. "Um, _Curry Nochi Rice _then. One, two, three, four!"

*One cookie-cutter performance animation scene of the pre-chorus later …*

_Daisuki~!_

_Kotokoto nikonda curry_

_Spice futasaji …_

Mugi frowned. Not because she was wasting all her camera's batteries, but because the playing was just utterly horrible. First off, Ritsu was rushing as usual, but the power she gave in each smack was just fierce. The reason became evident when the wannabe detective glanced in the direction of the restless airhead. Yui was missing notes, and skipping words. She was still doing well, considering a certain kouhai had been clumsily plucking her guitar with a flushed expression on her face.

_Cute overload._ Mugi thought.

Though, the sound of an out of place bass caused Mugi to accidentally hit D instead of C. Of course, Mio wasn't on top of her game either. Her face was tense, the kind of face everybody in the clubroom could recognize if they bothered to look. RoMio was in her deep thinking mode.

_Curry choppuli rice tappuli! ~_

Yui rubbed Gitah and exhled. "That sounded …"

"Damn, that sucked." Mio sighed.

"Well … I once read in a magazine that if you have problems you have to deal with … you've got to resolve them as soon as possible." Mugi fearlessly stated. Well it sounded that way, but she was basically talking to everybody through a faint reflection on the window by her keyboard.

"Are you talking to us?" Azusa tilted her head.

The lazy drummer crossed her arms in approval. "As expected of Mugi! Good plan, good plan!"

"You've got to be kidding me. Let's be serious here." The mature coward slammed her palm against the giant whiteboard residing in the clubroom. "Budokan? Ring a bell to anybody?"

"Ehh … but we _are _being serious Mio! Finding one's self could lead to many great undiscovered talents." Ritsu resigned her drumsticks to her schoolbag, grimacing.

"But don't you have to shoot beams of psychic power first? Or bend spoons with your mind?" A puzzled as usual Yui asked.

"Bulbasaur?" Azusa wondered.

"Alakazam," Mio silently but immediately corrected. Followed by a _very _awkward and short glance from Azusa.

Ignoring the side conversation, Ritsu stretched and patted Yui on the shoulder. "I gotta buy some things and grab a bite to eat. Wanna come with me?" Ritsu coolly asked.

"Food? Yum! Wanna come too, Azu-nyan? Ricchan has great taste." Yui straightened and stretched her arms out to the side, for god knows why.

"Ah, ah, ah. Azusa's got tank duty, remember? Ton-chan's tank water needs to be changed again." Ritsu signaled her hands to state that club activities were over as the two peppy girls waltzed out the door.

"…Eh?" Twin-tails furiously shook her head rapidly. "Cheater, cheater! Ritsu-senpai, you play too dirty!" She fumed, smacking the side of her cranium lightly with her fists. Hoping that the two girls would have a fight, leaving her favored senpai jumping into her arms. Not to mention her competition would no longer be a factor. Sadly, the guitarist realized reality is never too kind.

Mio nervously chuckled. "You're really serious about Yui aren't you … Ritsu …" She squeezed her school tie, eating herself alive with her paranoid thoughts.

Mugi sighed as she removed her shoulder armor and shut off the camera's power. She would have to stop by a store to get three more cards containing eight hours worth of film time later. Not that it was a chore to her. "Disappointing," Mugi complained as she quickly watched the footage her camera's got.

The CSI lover watched the two imaginable sisters corner themselves in their own mind games for several minutes. Mugi giggled.

"This is fun, but I wonder what you two are actually thinking about." Luckily, the two weren't paying much attention to her suspicious remark. Much to Mugi's relief.

A god-given idea must have passed through the keyboardist's mind as she dropped her shoulder pads.

"Mm … I guess I'll go home then. See you tomorrow, Mio-chan, Azusa." The potential author fled the premises of the clubroom in a flash. Mugi pulled a cell phone out of her left sock dialed the number 'one' on her cell phone.

"Father? Could you get the best sports car you have here on the double?"

"Consider it done." He replied. Luckily, neither of the Kotobuki's heard the two head maids routine gossiping.

"There she goes again." One of them sighed.

"I don't think I can survive another one of her adventures." The other one shivered.

* * *

1*: "That time I wasn't being serious! Why would I watch that ! ?

2*: "Whoa, whoa, easy on the grammar butchering."

A/N: I can't even speak a lick of Pig Latin. Had to use a dictionary *thumbs up*. I applaud you, Ritsu. Lastly ... school came back, I'm officially a high school freshman now. So, less time to harass my keyboard. But at least I can actually think of something while I daydream in math.

Next Chapter: Mission Do-able! ... ... ... Or, until I can actually think of a not overrated title.


	5. Mission Doable!

A/N: Just a few quick little notes before you read this.

Tonkatsu: Deep-fried pork cutlets. Usually served with rice, cabbage, or curry.

Tsukemono: Japanese pickles (haha?). Usually served with other Japanese meals.

_**CHAPTER FIVE: Mission Do-able!**_

The calm roads normally assisting at least thirty or so cars a day were roused when the smell of burning rubber and the sight of skid marks were tattooed all over the road. Pedestrians didn't even have time to jaywalk like usual across the street, knowing they would be flattened like an old aluminum soda bottle whose fate was sealed to passing Hummer.

"Milady, I don't think it is wise to be driving at these high speeds." Said a man fitted in a butler suit, sweating behind the wheel.

"It's an emergency. Once in a lifetime chance." The young Kotobuki stated.

"Yes, I understand milady. But …"

"Cat!" Yelped a maid in her twenties, gripping onto the dashboard like she was going for a world record on one of those mechanical bulls.

As if the street hadn't been disturbed enough, the gleaming Mercedes had sparks flying as it hoped to not end a poor insane cat's life.

"That cat has got some balls." Muttered the maid after she caught her breath, watching the luckiest black cat she has ever seen cross the road without even a scratch on it. Unfortunately, her tranquil break was short-lived as the butler started accelerating once more, causing all of their backs to shoot to the chair like some test dummy. Mugi stopped spouting orders down the butler's neck once she saw that they passed two students from Sakuragaoka.

* * *

"Holy blubber nuggets with fat-free hot sauce! Did you see that superhero car whiz by! ?" A star struck Ritsu exclaimed. Only to find her buddy several feet ahead of her, squeezing a nearby cat like it only had seventeen minutes to live.

"Yui? What are you - -"

"Ricchan! Did you see that blob on wheels almost run over this kuh-yooote~ cat! ?"

Ritsu nearly leaped back when she met the gaze of the orange-eyed ironic cat. Noticing the feline had a collar, the drummer pushed the guitarist to let it free. Yui resisted of course, until her stomach gave out a mighty growl. Also, since a seventy or so year old lady started to run (or the closest to running) in their direction, flailing her horrid purse around.

"Shoes? My shoes!" The elderly woman screamed.

"Crud, we got one of them senile people on our hands." Ritsu was about to take out one of her drumsticks. She had always imagined using her trusty drumsticks as a weapon, and today they were coming true. Well, except they weren't in medieval times. Plus the thing she would be battling wouldn't be some enemy on a Wii game.

The black cat leaped out of Yui's warm arms and towards the bizarre woman. "My beautiful Shoes!" She smiled as it hopped into her frail arms.

After receiving astonished looks from the two high schoolers, the elder woman started to jog to the other side of the street., screaming something completely incoherent.

Ritsu scratched her head. "Screws loose."

"Mm … stay away from railroad tracks, okay?" The cake-lover waved her hands over her head. Waiting until the old woman and her cat were out of sight, they continued their journey to the mall by frolicking while humming the tune of _Fuwa Fuwa Time._

_

* * *

_

"That's the plan. Any questions?"

"Will I get a raise for this?" Is what the domestic servant really wanted to say, but she knew better than to question Ms. Kotobuki while she was on her little adventures. She then proceeded to wonder if teenagers had quests similar to Tsumugi's.

"Not at all," Was all the maid managed to say.

"Good. Now, take this bucket and go to your first position." Detective Kotobuki then stealthily walked off deeper into the large mall.

* * *

"Mio-senpai?" The junior guitarist said while leaning on the wooden armrest of the clubroom couch.

"What is it, Azusa?" Mio replied. Both girls had already pushed their revenge and paranoia to the back of their minds. Now it was just the cuteness on legs fiddling with her bass, and her apprentice staring at the ground.

"… You love Ritsu-senpai, don't you?" Azusa abruptly asked.

Mio choked on exhaled air, somehow. "Wha - -?" Her enigmatic minor scale just came out as a four-year-old gagging after going on a roller coaster they weren't even tall enough for.

Azusa grinned. "It's written all over your face."

"Well my bad! I'm just worried about her. I mean, Yui and Ritsu? That's kinda …"

"They're really close, Mio-senpai. But, I bet you noticed that a long time ago … Doesn't it make you happy that they found someone that they can be with?"

…

"It's the wrong person …" The timid girl whispered. Time seemed to stop just for Mio as her eyes locked onto the lonely drum set. Ritsu wasn't there playing her heart out. Why? She was with Yui. What if … that happened all the time. The harsh reality slowly crept up on the young bassist. Mio's nervousness and doubt crumbled right before the little guitarist's eyes.

"Yui … Yui definitely isn't the girl for her," Elizabeth could just feel the fire burning into its fingerboard. "I am."

Azusa turned her back to her senior, walking over to the two remaining school bags left on the couch. "Why?" She questioned.

"… She's always been there! We've created each other, we've held on for years … I laugh at how little her parents know about her, so does she. If I'm not the one for her, then - - !" Mio paused.

_Dramatic effect?_ Azusa thought, but quickly suspended that thought. "Then?"

"No, I _am_ the one for her. No doubts." Mio's bold statement was short-lived, as a phone was tossed to her face. Luckily, she caught it with her "out-of-the-spotlight" reflexes. Just got to love irony.

Out of the blue, a certain guitarist was in her face. "Call her," She said.

"Call her? But I - -" The ebony-haired beauty glanced at her phone's wallpaper. The signature peace signs of that genki drummer girl. Without another word, Mio, Elizabeth, and her bag were out the door.

Cat girl sighed. "Now, time for phase two." Azusa grabbed her lonely bag, texted a Hirasawa, and bolted out the door.

Azusa descended the many floors of the large school. While passing the closed doors of class 3-2, she smirked.

_Ritsu-senpai, the past isn't so forgiving._

_

* * *

_

"First thing's first! There's a new little diner that just opened up last week. Its has got _the best_ Tonkatsu I have ever eaten."

"Uu~ I can't wait … Ah, by the way, can we go get some pistachios after? I have to get some so Ui can make Tsukemono for dinner tonight."

Ritsu cringed. "I really hope you mean pickles. Ahem, anyway, the restaurant is that-a-way!" The drummer boldly pointed. Though, her instincts told her whatever the guitar prodigy was looking at, it wasn't what she was pointing at. Of course, she was right. Just got to love those Animal Planet shows.

"Ricchan! What's that thingy?" Being Yui, the girl just immediately ran toward the questioned item before getting a response. Being Ritsu, she happily followed.

The aforementioned item was actually a man in camouflaged clothing screaming the same two sentences over and over again. "Our only rule is: Peace!" Go Peace!"

Seeing a gun draped over his back, Ritsu impulsively shoved Yui over into the nearest shop. Conveniently, the shop turned out to be a mini-arcade connected to an adjoining theater.

Yui rubbed her head, which wasn't even touched. "What was that for Ricc- - AH! Whack-a-mole! They got Whack-a-mole, Ricchan! My neighborhood arcade doesn't have that~" Yui's happy meter was rapidly undulating having realized she had no money, but assumed Ritsu did.

_Crap, I suck at this game._ Ritsu thought. But the girl was convinced that if you just have to smack annoying things on the head, drummers _have_ to be good at it. Still, she just had a feeling Mio would be pro at this game. With Ritsu's wallet feeling lighter, the two seniors pranced on over to the Whack-a-Mole game.

Yui dramatically rolled the coins into the horribly-painted and unfitting gopher slot. Bells were rung and the hammer lock was released. Why it was a gopher, they couldn't really figure out. The timer was set at: One solid minute.

As the first mole sluggishly popped up, Ritsu cried: Bring it on you dirt monsters! Thus causing her to miss the very first mole, giving her a score of a _very_ impressive and unbelievable zero.

"Oo, you got burned." Yui bluntly said.

Ignoring the harsh truth, Ritsu effortlessly nailed the remaining eleven of the dozen. She then continued on until the timer was at twenty-three seconds.

"Fight! Ricchan! Don't let their ginormous lazy eyes get you!" Yui cheered while flailing her arms up and down. One of her hands was occupied by a cotton candy stick.

"When did you get that?" Ritsu wondered, only to notice the moles seemed to have gotten a hold of steroids, since they were coming down just as soon as they popped up. Time flew in the blink of an eye and Juliet managed to get five of the twelve disgusting moles. In other words, a big, fat 'F' grade.

Yui stopped nibbling on her cotton, gaping with a sweat drop trickling down her neck. "That was amazing! Did you see those moles dodge that squeaky hammer?" The guitarist smiled and tried to sprint on over to another machine. Unfortunately, fate wasn't so kind to her as she was caught in a choke hold.

"I know right …? Those dirt bags _really_ need to work on not getting the crap beaten out of them by that gavel." Tainaka hissed down Hirasawa's ear.

Yui slapped Ritsu's forearm several times whining "Uncle" over and over for another seven seconds or so. Ms. Forehead had to release when other gamers were eyeballing them, some in the wrong way.

The airhead coughed several times and pounded her chest. "Hoo, surviving is tiring."

Ritsu grinned and put another coin in the damned machine. The hammer was released once more and she flung the hammer in Yui's direction.

"Let's see what you can do, Hirasawa."

"Better than you I bet." Yui teased as the bells rung and the moles were unleashed.

* * *

"I guess you're right, Azusa. I was just lucky that time …" Ui was twirling a string attached to her lime-green cell phone. Since dinner had already been prepared, the little sister was more than happy to talk to her friend while waiting for her loving sister's return.

"But Onee-chan tells me it won't happen again … what? Onee-chan is with Ritsu-san! ?"

There was a brief silence. Azusa removed the phone from her ear and looked at the screen.

_Call has ended 42:08:50_

"Ui takes forever to break." Azusa sighed and crashed onto her couch, gazing at her cell phone background. It was supposed to just be a picture of her taken by Mugi, but turned out to be her getting glomped by Yui.

"Now that I think about it … I wonder what Mugi had to do today." Azusa shot up from the couch, and scanned the windows in her living room. Seeing nothing but a tree, she sighed and laid back down.

* * *

Tsumugi's trusty maid sighed. "For Christ's sake, how long are they going to play that ancient block of a game?"

Bored out of her mind, she looked over in her master's direction in an attempt to see her unsatisfied. Those sights always amused her for a good amount of time. Sadly, it was just the opposite. Mugi had her hands clenched on her video camera, but she was already long gone. Her mouth was opened wide while her electric blue eyes were burning mental images at a breakneck pace.

"Ojou-sama …" Maid girl sweat dropped. Who then started to wonder why Ms. Kotobuki even needed a camera. From all her years serving the Kotobuki family, she was sure Tsumugi's imagination wasn't the wildest, but on some specific topics, she would even beat the damn Picasso.

"What the - ? !" A flabbergasted teenager said. To her surprise, her companion was wiping out almost every single mole like nobody's business. Swiftly and professionally, the squeaky and annoying mallet continuously collided with the bruised heads of the helpless moles. Ritsu could even see the paint on one of the moles starting to brush off. Yui's seemingly endless barrage came to an end when the bells were rung once again and the sound effects of crying chipmunks could be heard.

"Whew, that was -" Yui was interrupted when a humongous mole shot out of a giant tube that could easily pass off as a garbage can. Following the shrieks of the two girls and a few other gamers, the mole with the huge mouth spoke in that annoying digital tone nobody really liked.

"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE GOTTEN A SCORE OF 85 OR HIGHER! YOU GET A _FREE_ TOY!" The demonic thing then dispensed a nice, fluffy and pink elephant.

Ritsu rubbed her harassed ears. "Volume, much? Should've been a Vocaloid voice at least."

"Ricchan? These moles look really … disturbing." Yui pointed out as she shot her arms out. To her dismay, the elephant didn't grow wings and fly out of the mole's mouth.

"You finally noticed …" Ritsu effortlessly tugged the elephant out of the creature's humongous mouth and handed it to Yui. "Come on, Tonkatsu awaits."

"Yay! And don't forget Pinto beans!" Yui merrily walked beside Ritsu.

"Pickles … but sure, whatever floats your boat." The pair continued walking until they hit an intersection of the labyrinth of a mall. The rice-lover pointed East, and Yui was the first to start walking. Alas, leave it to the airhead to not notice a bucket of water spill onto the junky floor.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. In Mugi's eyes, anyway.

The guitarist was three, maybe four steps away from slipping on the amazingly not lethal at all tiny puddle of water. Sniffing a plan, the Gods of Timing decided to have a nearby child start running at top speed after seeing a Max Burger shop down the corridor. The mother took no notice, she was too busy trying to figure out how to open a damn browser on her new touch phone. Using common sense, Ritsu connected the falling bucket to the puddle of water. She was about to save her friend from falling on her ass yet again, but the child was already a step ahead. The kid slipped on the water and fell on his face. Thus having the two high school girls assist him up and walk him over to his careless mother. Woo, exciting.

The young maid bit her tongue, seeing the plan had failed miserably. Awaiting the end of her career, she looked over to Tsumugi.

"It was fool-proof …" Mugi complained as she sunk to the ground. With her motherly instinct taking over, her maid rushed over to her rescue.

"Milady, its all right. I bet if it even worked your sharp brain could create an even better scenario."

"Un," Mugi nodded. "Yui slips then Ricchan catches her in her arms. Their eyes lock, their fingers intertwine. Then without another word they walk hand in hand to their destination."

_Wasn't really … expecting that. _The domestic worker thought. Regardless, her high image of her loving master just increased ten-fold.

"Ugh, that was annoying," Ritsu complained. "But whatever, we're _finally_ here! Woo freaking hoo." The golden-eyed girl marched into the self-proclaimed "best diner like ever" with her starving buddy.

To avoid yet another distraction, the sarcastic girl brought up conversations about the best seats in the diner. Which continued longer than both girls expected, as it dragged on even after they finally made it into the diner unscathed and hungry.

"Yep, table 1 is the best table in this joint! Since the manager gets work done fast, he helps with serving food a lot. His favorite number is one, surprise surprise. So he likes scooping up an extra helping for the people at table one. Good thing nobody really knows about it though. Tsk, they just aren't perceptive." Ritsu's gloating came to a halt when she saw that two short-ish guys had already taken up the entire table.

Yui frowned. "Occupado."

"Pshaw!" Ritsu gasped with an outdoors voice.

"Hmm?" One of the boys turned around. "Eh? Tainaka, isn't that your sister?"

"Huh? Nee-chan's here?" The other boy turned around as well.

"Satoshi? !" Ritsu yelped in disbelief. The girl's senses came back to her, and the percussionist turned around to see how her scarred friend was dealing with it.

"Eh? Yui-tan's here too! Hiyo, Yui-tan~" Satoshi waved.

Ritsu stepped in front of Yui, holding one arm out to her side. "Satoshi, you better stop that."

"Why? But Yui-tan and I - -"

"I don't really care about your man ego! Do you _think_ it makes you cool? You think you're a big bad player now?"

Yui tugged on Ritsu's sleeve. "Ricchan … I need to leave, _now._" The guitarist then started to inch away from the drummer's protection, and towards the exit.

"Ah! Where you going? Can I come?" Satoshi then leaped out of his stool and started power-walking towards the two girls. The millisecond his foot started moving, Yui had already bolted out the door. Ritsu cringed, but would stand her ground like always.

"You're never laying a finger on my friends again. You understand me, Satoshi_-kun?_"

Satoshi smirked and chuckled. "I won't touch her with my fingers."

The elder Tainaka took no hesitation to grab her so-called sibling by the collar, lifting him high off the ground. Her burning eyes locked with his identical mysterious ones. The thought that this boy was her own flesh and blood disgusted Ritsu. The drummer definitely had the nerve to literally beat her own brother for the chance he might come back to his senses. The only restraint the poor girl had was the righteous feeling she got while they gazed at each other.

"Go home," Ritsu ordered, releasing Satoshi from her grasps.

"Back to that hell hole? Screw that! I'm sleeping over at Rin-chan's house tonight."

"Oh, you finally caught Rin, eh? She plays _really_ hard to get." Satoshi's companion spoke up once more.

Satoshi licked his lips. "Aye, makes the conclusion even better."

Ritsu scoffed. "You're sick … If you wanna go at it with this Rin person, why the fuck are you still on Yui's trail?"

"Cause hers was the best? La dur. Plus, she should be thanking _me._ First come first serve, righ - -" The obnoxious voice fell silent once his face was the receiving end of a vicious backslap. The little playboy in training had collapsed onto the ground. Taken aback, he rubbed his cheek with a shocked expression. The two pairs of golden eyes locked once more.

"Just … go away already, Nee-chan." He mumbled.

Ritsu complied with his request and walked out of the diner without another word. She knew better than to wait until mall security would take her by the shoulders and fling her out onto the cold parking lot. She didn't want him to get any ideas of the law protecting someone like him.

_Someone like him … I don't want him to go down this road …_ The brunette sat down at a nearby bench and took out her phone, planning her own little intervention.

* * *

"How was your plan, Ojou-sama?" Mr. Butler questioned as he patiently waited for his co-worker and master to enter the shining Mercedes.

"Fantasies really _are_ better." Mugi sighed, not noticing she was asked a question. The car drove off within speed limit while the young Kotobuki felt the cold wind repeatedly slap her flawless face.

* * *

A young girl shot up from the couch as if she had taken a taser hit. But no, she just heard some sound waves travel into her ear canal. Sure enough, it was her loving sister twisting the door key in several directions until she could actually move the knob. Tired and nervous, Ui just swiped off a few microscopic dust crap off the nearly spotless coffee table while she waited for Yui to enter the house.

"Ui? I'm home." Yui had to wait until she lazily kicked off her shoes and headed into the living room area to spot her awesome sister.

With the usual perfect sitting position, Ui smiled. "Welcome home, Onee-chan. How was your day with Ritsu-san?"

Airheads truly are magical. "It was … fun. But I ditched before we got a chance to eat." Yui rubbed her stomach who was clinging onto her pancreas for dear life.

"Oh? Why did you ditch?"

"Cause I was hungry,"

"…" No matter how many years Ui has known her sister, she just couldn't believe her responses to things sometimes. Though, she has never believed in airheads, and will never start. "Then, did you get pickles for Tsukemono like I asked you?"

Awkward silence.

" … Eh? … Pickles? Not …?" The forgetful girl then held up a grocery bag that contained a prepared pumpkin pie produced from the Philippines.

Ui had to cover her mouth from losing control of her laughing … organs. I don't feel like Googling it. It was hard for her to be serious when her sister was just so fun-loving. But that just gave her even more motivation and reason to stay serious.

"That looks yummy! Guess I'm off the hook for not preparing dessert then." Ui never planned to make dessert tonight so she could sincerely have a one-on-one talk with Yui. But oh well, that carefree smile just melted her willpower in a mere second.

_One regular dining scene later …__ (Come on, it's short. She eats like a vacuum in a dump.)_

"Onee-chan? Can we talk?" Ui requested. She had just finished the dishes, so she somehow felt fresh and squeaky clean with her pruny fingers.

"Mm? Sure!" Yui proceeded to shut down onto the couch with her bargain guitar. Who then began to play a jazz-like tune until her little sister would finally speak up.

"Onee-chan, we have to talk about that incident with Satoshi someday."

The upbeat tune was cut short.

Ui continued. " … I know Ritsu-san means well, but she's too close to him. What if something happens? Are you seeing where I'm going, Onee-chan? I'm doing this for your own - -"

"Today … Ricchan and I found him at a food place in the mall. He acted funny again, but Ricchan protected me." The older sister admitted, putting Gitah aside. Even Gitah couldn't be allowed within their sister-to-sister talks.

"Onee-chan ... " Ui rose from her god-smackingly perfect sitting position and squeezed her sister harder than she had ever done before. It was so tight and warm it could be compared to one of Yui's regular hugs.

"Nothing will happen anymore, isn't that great?" The younger Hirasawa said to the elder one.

"Eh? Really?"

"Un. Onee-chan, I called a lawyer."

* * *

A/N: Shush. I can make Satoshi a nasty icky dude if I want to! He's just a supporting character, anyway xD. Though, I really like his laugh.

Next Chapter! ... Actually, I have no dang clue.


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